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i'ki:si;Nii;r) HY i 1 I O 



BALDER'S DEATH 



AND 



LORE'S PUNISHMENT 



BY 



CORNELIA STEKETEE HULST 



CHICAGO 

THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING CO. 

1918 



<A^^ 






mi s w? 



MAY 24 1918 






THIS WORK IS GRATEFULLY DEDICATED 
TO 

The Honorable Rasmus B. Anderson! 
His "Norse Mythology" gave the first impulse to its 
composition. A poet at heart, he interpreted the myths 
so that they became vital ; himself a creative scholar, 
he freely gave his interest and sympathy to this work 
when he was an entire stranger to the author ; a most 
generous and stimulating friend, he and his gracious 
wife have added charm and glory to our years since 
they have known us. 

C. S. H. 
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN. 



FOREWORD. 

TN these incidents from Northern Mythology it has been my intention to be 
■^ true to the version presented in the Eddas, about 1000 A. D., a version 
which is poetically consistent and which takes a higher flight, particularly in 
all that relates to Balder, than pagan literature in general does. This fact 
seems to be owing to the new ideas and the new spirit that the scalds received 
through Viking contact with Christianity in the South. The solution here 
presented for "Balder's Death" was worked out independently from facts given 
in the Eddas, to accord wnth conditions as stated and to ensure poetic justice ; and 
this solution is confirmed by Rydberg, who brought a wealth of medieval learn- 
ing to sustain his argument in his "Teutonic Mythology." Bugge's learned 
study citing Christian literary sources that probably were influential in form- 
ing the Balder mytli also tends to confirm this solution. The descent of Balder 
into Hell and his coming rule in the Realm of the Spirit when the New Heaven 
and the New Earth have risen, when this Heaven and this Earth pass away, 
after the Twilight of the Gods, offers the only consistent and adequate solution, 
not only for this incident, but for others linked to it, notably the epic of Sieg- 
fried and Brunhilde, which even in Wagner's version is not complete and satis- 
fying. In the Icelandic version Siegfried is without reproach, and Brunhild in 
disobeying Odin obeys a higher law, so both merit a future with a perfect king 
in a heavenlier Heaven than Odin's, which is tainted with evil. When they 
go to Balder, though in Hell, it will now be seen that poetic justice is satisfied; 
it will be completely satisfied when both rise with Balder into his New Heaven 
after Odin and the evil of his dispensation have been swept away. 

The literary form of these poems is a variety of Free Verse, but they were 
composed mainly before 1900 and therefore before the present school of Free 
Verse had been developed. This variety was evolved under the influence of the 
alliterative verse of the Eddas and Beowulf, but was an unconscious product, 
not in anj' sense an imitation. 

The illustrations are selected from the rare series with which Frolich illus- 
trated the Eddas. 

May the good and the beautiful that come to us from the Past never die, 
and may the victory of Balder and the defeat of Odin forever inspire us with 
hope and courage. 

Mrs. Henrv Hulst. 

GL.^D.sHEIM, Nov. 7, 1917. 



PERSONS. 

Odin — All-Father, King of the Asas in Asgard. 

Frigg — his Queen, mother of Balder. 

Balder — the Good, the Just, the Asa of Light, Father of Justice. 

Nanna — his wife. 

HoDER — the Blind, his hrother. 

Thor — the Thunderer, Asa of Battle. 

Tyr — the Asa of War. 

ViDAR — the Silent and Ready, the recuperative power of Nature. 

Vale — the young son of Odin and Rind (the Frozen-Earth). 

Brace — .Asa of Song, inspirer of the Asas. 

Idun — Brage's wife, guardian of the Apples of Youth and Strength. 

Hermod — the Swift, Messenger of the Asas. 

Heimdal — guardian of Bifrost, the Rainbow-Bridge that leads from Earth to 
Asgard. 

LoKE — son of the Jotun Farbaute, adopted among the Asas, but later a foe of 
Odin. 

SiGYN — his wife, an Asa, called the Tender and True, deserted by Loke. 

Angerbod.\ — A Jotun witch who bodes anguish, wedded by Loke when he de- 
serted Sigyn. 

Hel — daughter of Loke and Angerboda, Queen of Hell, the Kingdom of the 
Lower World. 

Fenrer — the Wolf, son of Loke and Angerboda. 

The Midgard Serpent— son of Loke and Angerboda. 



PALACES. 

Valhal — Odin's Hall of Heroes in Asgard. 

Fensal — Frigg's Palace in Asgard. 

Broadblink — Shining Splendor, Baldcr's Palace. It is built in Peace Place, 
which is a sanctuary. 

Gladsheim — the gold hall of Brage and Idun in the Happy Valley. It lies 

at the East. 
Anguish — Hel's Palace in Niflhel. 
GiMLE — the Palace in Alfhcim where Balder will reign after Ragnarok, when 

the New Heaven and the New Earth have risen. 



ARGUMENT. 

THE first scene of this story is in the Heaven of Norse Mythol- 
ogy, or, to be more exact, in Asgard, the city of the Asas ; and 
the characters are the Asas, the Norse gods, whose King is Odin. 
Asgard must be imagined as a golden city, not only paved with 
gold but piled with gold from the foundation to the pinacles of its 
palaces. It is a wonderwork of the most skilful of the giant race, 
the Jotuns, who were once friends of the Asas but are now foes, 
alienated by rivalry for power and gold. 

In the scheme of the Universe, Asgard lies in the upper 
branches of the Tree of Life, where it rests at the top of the arch 
of Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge, by which the Asas descend to 
earth when they will, riding their horses, except Thor, who is so 
heavy that he would break through its ethereal substance. As far 
beneath the earth as Asgard lies above it, is the Lower World, 
called Hell, or Helheim because it is the home of Queen Hel. a 
Jotun whose power is matched with Odin's and who will lead her 
kindred to attack him in Asgard as soon as she is able. 

Hel is the daughter of Loke, the destructive spirit of Fire. 

The Golden City of Asgard shines in splendor against a blue 
sky, and Odin, its king, is clad in a regal mantle of blue. Among 
his circle he is kingly indeed, a leader in battle, triumphant in 
single combat, astute in counsel, and a loving father to his heroes. 
All-Father is the name with which they chiefly honor him, but they 
add many other names in honor of his powers and exploits, such 
as the Many-in-One, Ygg (the Clear-Thinker), and the Wayfarer. 
Odin's sister, Frigg, is also his wife, and as Queen of Heaven is 
justly honored, for she is wise and good. The son of Odin and 
Frigg is Balder, the best loved Asa in heaven. Like Odin, Balder 
has many appropriate names, among which are the White One, the 
Peaceful, and the Father of Justice, for his palace has sheltered 
no evil. He is clothed in radiant white, and rays beam about him 
as from a sun. Balder is the glory of heaven. As is fit, Nanna. 



2 BALDER'S DEATH. 

his wife, is like him though lesser, a moon-white Dis, and their 
union is the most perfect. 

The nature of Loke is flame, and his color is flame ; but Hel 
is death-white, and her heart is cold, as her kingdom lies cold in 
a region of eternal frost and snow. Hel is the most powerful of 
Loke's evil offspring. Her mother is no less hated, a Jotun witch 
named Angerboda, because she bodes anguish to all of her friends 
as well as her foes. This circle of destructive spirits, including 
also Hel's terrible brothers, the Midgard Serpent and the Fenris 
Wolf, bide their time to conquer both Earth and Asgard, muster- 
ing their forces in the Lower World and in the Mirkwood, where 
Angerboda's wolf-sons congregate. At Ragnarok, the World's 
Twilight, they will issue forth for the final struggle. In the one 
great conflict that they have so far had with Odin for the rule of 
the world, Odin has been able to control them, casting the Serpent 
far forth into the sea, binding the Wolf Fenrer to a rock on a 
distant island, LyngA^e, and banishing Hel to the Lower World, 
where in the lowest of nine gloomy circles she established her throne, 
called Despair. Hers is a sad, loveless kingdom, and she is the cold 
sovereign of the dead. The Weird Norns (Past, Present, and Fu- 
ture), made her supreme in the Lower World, and gave her per- 
mission to come to Earth only at midnight to select those who are 
to belong to her. Brave warriors are chosen by the Valkyrie, Odin's 
War Maidens, to be taken dying from the battlefield to Valhal, his 
Hall of Heroes in Asgard ; but those who are cowards or who die 
at peace are taken by Hel. 

The incidents in this story occur shortly after thfe Wolf Fenrer 
has been bound, when Loke and Hel have been balked in their 
purpose to capture Asgard by means of Fenrer's wonderful strength. 
The action begins on one of Hel's midnight visits to Earth to give 
warning to those whom she has chosen to die. 



N 



BALDER'S DEATH. 

OW the dusk and the nightfall were early 
And the dawn was late in its corning, 



Nature gives ;\nd the days were so dark that at noontide 

signs that fore- , , ,. .__,,, 

bode disaster. Deep shadows lay brooding in Valhal — 

Strange sights ; and strange sounds smote the hearing, 

Low soughing and sighing and whispers. 

It shook the hearts of the hearers. 

Were Hel and her hordes from cold Helheim 

Stealing on Asgard in darkness?. . . . 

The eyes of the erewhile calm Asas 

Grew gloomy, and heavy their hearts were; 

Sore troubled, they tossed on their couches. 

And, the first time in Asgard, one midnight 

A moaning and crying awaked them .... 

Fear sucked at their hearts like a vampire. . . . 

Then a wailing arose in Bright Broadblink 

Whence naught but joy's sounds had e'er issued ; 

And shrill, as pine shrieks when the lightning 

Has cleft to its heart, Balder shrieked, 

And the ramparts of Asgard echoed 

And its vaulting re-echoed his shrieking. 

They groped their way through the dark, 
Baider'9 y\n(j ^.s day brokc in Asgard held council 

And heard Balder's dream. 
His vision of evil impending: 

"All we love, all we hate were in conflict ! 

The Gulph of the Nether World opened 

And Hel sought her lord. . . .to dwell with her. . . . 

And I was her lord, and must follow. 

For Death hurled his dart, and it hit me." 



BALDER'S DEATH. 



And Nanna. his spouse, where she lav 
Nanna pleads With her flowcrHke face on Frigg's bosom, 
His mother's, shudder'ed and sobbed 
Ere she spoke in accents complaining, 
"Aye, Hel came to Asgard, love-hungry ; 
She sought her a lord. . . .she craves mine. 
Me she hates— O Father! O Mother! 
King! Frigg! Help our Balder 
Or Hel will yet hale him to Helheim!" 




THE HEAVENLY CITY. 

And Frigg answered, comforting Nanna. 
"Dear child, who would harm our good Balder, 
Frigg's answer. Beloved Light of the Heavens? 

If Hel does desire him — oh, surely 
She never will find one to slay him. 
For all in the world love our Balder!" 

But still Frigg was troubled at heart, 
Asking why was his slumber afilicted 
With dreams that foreboded disaster ; 
And Nanna, still weeping, repeated, 
"Hel will yet hale him to Helheim." 



BALDER'S DEATH. 

Then Odin, the wise, the Clear-Thinker, 
Odin departs Who loved Balder more dearly then any 

to learn the t^ , i 11 1 • 

future. l^or that best he knew his son s nature, 

So gentle and loving and peace-full. 
Arose and departed in silence. 

But Frigg, with the Asas remaining, 
Frigg's efforts Took Oath from all Nature to spare him 

So that Hel could find nothing to slay him. 
She bound land and water with oaths, 
And gold, and silver, and iron, — 

All metals, all earths, all plants 

That are growing or grown on the earth. 

In the air or the water ; all birds, 

All diseases, all reptiles, all creatures 

That creep, walk, or fly, to earth's confines. 

And again there was joy in the heavens. 
The fears of And a marvcl it was, those glad days, 

the Asas are 1 i -r-. 1 1 

relieved. T- o scc how all uaturc lovcd Balder. 

They gathered a circle about him 
And, pla3'ful, threw missiles upon him 
In their sports on his plain, the fair Peace Place ; 
And great was the honor they did him. 
Hewing, and hacking, and hurling. 
Most mighty, most skilful, — and harmless. 
Darts recoiled, and hard flints did not hurt him ; 
Asa blades bit not, but rebounded 
Though keen and hero-like wielded ; 
When it hurtled forth with his thunder, 
Thor's Hammer to Thor's hand returned 
And on Balder had left no more mark 
Than an arrow when cleaving the heavens 
Can leave on the air it has parted. 
Frigg smiled, Nanna laughed, and bright Balder 
Forgot his dream and its portent. 



But Odin, All-Father, forgot not, 
Nor smiled, as he rode through de 
Descending and dark, to the Nort 
Swiftly his steed passed the landmarks, 



Odin journeys Tv^Qj. smiled, as he rodc through deep valleys, 

to the Vala . fc> f .7 ' 

Descending and dark, to the North. 



6 B ALDER'S DEATH. 

His Sleipner. fleet-footed and willing, 

Smiting the earth till it trembled 

With the beat of his feet, rune-enristed. 

For nine days successive down Helway 

He traveled, by bridges, o'er chasms 

And wastes, till he came to Hel's kingdom ; 

And never he stopped or turned back 

Though her Hel-hounds he met, slaughter-craving, 

Foam-flecked and blood-stained and gaping. 

That bayed as he passed, 

And though bands of the Dead hailed him, wailing. 

But when Hell-walls loomed black through the darkness, 

With towers and pinacles beetling, 

And heavy-barred Hell-gates denied him — 

W^ould he force them, again to face Hel?. . . . 

To the East he turned Sleipner, to the death-house 

Where the Vala, a seeress, lay buried. 

Three times he circled around it. 
He practices Three times in widening circles, 

his art to raise ... . i • t~. 

her from her And three tmics three, chantmg Runes ; 
grave. Then, facing the North, a spell 

He pronounced, most potent, compelling. 

Until, in her grave, Vala wakened, 

And rose in winding-sheet swathed, 

And uttered unwilling. 

In accents grave-hollow, death-husky: 

"My grave has been covered with snow ; 
Vala speaks. ]y|y grave has been beaten with rain ; 
Upon it the night-dews have fallen 
As many a year I have lain ; 
Pass onward, and leave me in quiet, 
Thou stranger — What is thy name, 
That hast wakened my ghost in its grave?" 

And Odin, the Many-in-One, 
Odin deceives Spokc the name he ever is named 

her as to his ._^ , . . w-r^i -itr r t 

name, and t roui that journey forth: The Wayfarer, I, 
compels her Veltam's son ; and of Hel I demand, 

to answer. « i i 11 • i • « 

And these benches with rmgs overspread. 



BALDER'S DEATH. 



For whom is Hel's banquet prepared? 

For whom are her couches o'erlaid? 

Speak, Vala, and tell ; 

I shall bind thee with runes, that thou answer.' 

"The mead that stands brewed is for Balder — 
He learns Le|- the racc of the Asas bewail him! 
must die, Now thou hast Compelled me to speak it, 

And now let me lay me to rest." 




that Iloder 
will slay him, 



ODIN QUESTIONING VALA. 

But Odin: "Speak, Vala! 

I shall bind thee with runes, that thou answer, 

For yet I must learn of his slayer." 

And Vala: 

"Blind Hoder will slay him. 

Will send his glorious brother 

To dwell in the halls of dark Helheim. 

Now thou hast compelled me to speak it. 

And now let me lay me to rest." 

But Odin: "Speak, Vala! 

I shall bind thee with runes, that thou answer; 
Thou still must reveal me the vengeance 
That any may wreak on his slayer." 



8 BALDER'S DEATH. 

"Young A^ale and A^idar the 'vengers 
and that Who his slaycF shall slay, 

vidarand Now thou hast Compelled me to speak it, 

Vale will , , , ,5 ,, 

avenge him; And now let me lay me to rest. 

And Odin: "Speak, Vala ! 
but when The Maidens, three Jotuns — " 
Odin asks con- (Qf the Wise Ones he questioned, the Weird 

cerning the _^^ 

Norns OnCS 

Who weave the web of the world, 
Urd, and Verdand', and Skuld, 
That-Has-Been, That-Is, and That-Shall-Be) 



Vala knows 
him for Odin, 
and taunts 
him with his 
impotence. 



But Vala broke forth when he named them, 
"Not the Wayfarer — Odin ! 
Now I know ! — thou hast tricked me ! . . . . 
Hel. help ! I appeal to Queen Hel ! 
Go, boast of thy knowledge, exulting! 
The Norns have his thread, and are weaving- 
Can thy runes cast a spell upon Skuld, 
Or alter a thread in the pattern 
That Verdand' is weaving? 
Hel, help ! I appeal to Queen Hel ! 
To her the Norns gave dark Helheim, 
And wanhope is thine in that kingdom ! 
Henceforth no more cjuestions I answer 
Till bondage be broken at Doom. 
I sleep till the sound of the Trumpet." 



Then Odin withdrew him toward Valhal, 
For Vala took refuge with Hel. 
And, again for nine days, to the South 
He rode ; climbing the heights of his city 
While he pondered what Vala foretold. 



in. 



Loke, dis- 
guised as a 
maiden 



Now Loke, the evil, heard laughter. 

As he lurked at the portals of Asgard, 

And in his fell spirit most spiteful 

Were the thoughts and the feelings that wakened. 

Assuming the guise of a maid 



B ALDER'S DEATH. 



That is free from all guile, to Fensal, 
That fairest of gold-halls, he came. 
Where Frigg sat with Nanna in converse : 
"Mother, why are the x-Xsas so blithesome?" 




questions 
Frigg, 



VOLUSPA. 

His tongue that asked it dripped honey. 
The Mother of Asas made answer, 
"Our Balder is safe from Hel's clutches 
Creation has sworn not to harm him, 
The air and the earth and the water, 



10 



BALDER'S DEATH. 



and learns 
her secret. 



All life that is in, on, or under," — 

The honey-sweet voice interrupted, 

"What, all things have sworn it?" 

"The things I have spoken have sworn it. 

But now I bethink me, a thing 

That is growing nor on earth, nor under. 

Nor in air or water, nor under. 

But, sole of its kind, on an oak tree — 

The mistletoe twig — hath not sworn it : 

But weak is its nature, and tender." 



He seeks 
Balder, to 
slav him. 



Odin returns 
to Asgard, re- 
joicing to 
hear that Bal- 
der is still 
safe. 



Loke had what he sought, and went forth 

Straightway to seek mistletoe growing. 

From an oak tree he cut it, then hied 

To the sports of the Asas in Peace Place, 

Balder's broad, smiling Mead, 

Where in midst of the Circle stood Balder, 

The White, white-browed and white robed, 

Radiant, beaming around, 

While about him flew missiles, played weapons 

In that game that they made in his honor. 

And as each play failed of effect 

There rose shouts and applause from the players 

So loud and so long that the Wayfarer 

Nearing the portals of Asgard 

Heard, and rejoiced that he heard. 

For they told of the safety of Balder. 



Apart from the Circle stood Hoder, 
Loke per- The Blind, the twin brother of Balder. 
suades Hoder fj-jg smile ou his facc spokc contentment 

to throw the .,.,., 

mistletoe, And pride in the prowess of Balder. 
"And why do you not honor Balder, 
Hoder?" said Loke; and Hoder, 
"Because I am blind, and unable." 
"Stand forth, then, and take thou this missile 
And hurl with thy might ; I will guide thee." 
And Hoder, to honor his Balder, 
Put forth all his might, and the mistletoe 

and strikes Flew from his hand, Death's own dart — 

Balder down. « , . , t-. 

And pierced Balder. . . . 



BALDER'S DEATH. 



11 



Balder'a 
dream is 
fulfilled. 



And again Balder shrieked, as that midnight, 
And heaven re-echoed his shrieking 
From rampart to rampart and vaulting 
And again from the vault to the ramparts, 
Through the Halls of the Heavenly City, 
To Fensal, v^'here Nanna and Frigg 
Were weaving their wreaths, and to Odin, 
Who had entered the gates of his City. 



Ah, who can tell of their grief ! 

The grief in Bcyond powcr of speech was their sorrow, 
^^^^ ' And a deathlike stillness fell on them 

As still Death had fallen on Balder. 
The Heavenly City lay hushed 
As the yard where the dead lie entombed. 
But when dying — nay, dead, Balder fell, 
There rose wailing and groans from the Asas 
From throats that were strangers to weeping, 
From heroes of godlike endurance. 

of \idar, Tyr, Quly Vidar stood silent, unshaken ; 

Tyr trembled ; Thor shook like an aspen ; 
Young Vale's breast heaved, tempest-shaken, 
And through his clenched teeth an oath rattled ; 

Hoder, Apart and unheeded stood Hoder, 

His face as a ghost's strayed from Helheim, 

His blind eyes strained as if seeing, 

His white lips at horrible working. 

Form tense, hand at ear, forward bending. 

and Odin. And thcu Father Odin descended. 
And gathered his son to his heart 
And bemoaned him : 

"Oh Balder, my Son, my Beloved, 
Odin's lament. Would that Wcird had taken thy Father ! 
Full gladly — my life for thy life — 
Take it — Oh, would thou mightst take it — " 
Then his accents were lost in his sobbing. 



And when Frigg and Nanna together 
The grief of Approachcd, Balder's wife and his mother — 
Nanna. Too sacred their sorrow. 

Draw the veil and gaze not upon it. . . . 



12 



BALDER'S DEATH. 



At last Frigg spoke: "Who will go 
Frigg advises And pray Hel to take ransom for Balder?" 
ransom; but "Qjz'c her ransom?" roared Thor, "Give her 

Thor proposes , 

war. Battle! 

I reed you, storm Hel and take Balder \ 

We had better force battle to-day than wait longer — 

First, vengeance! Who was the slayer?" 

The red beard shook on his bosom ; 

From 'neath brows beetling black as his storm-clouds 

Light leapt, levin-red, as he thundered. 

His knuckles gleamed white 

As he tightened his hold on the haft of his hammer. 



Hoder con- 
fesses his act, 
and tells of 
Loke. 



Loke pleads 
sanctuary 



and escapes, 



Then Hoder groped forward, bowed, broken,- 
"I give myself to his 'vengers — 
This hand was the hand that slew Balder — 
But Loke's the voice — his the purpose." 
And he told the tale of the slaying. 

The Asas started for Loke 

To tear him to pieces. "Peace Place!" 

Cried Loke, "This is Balder's Peace, 

Where violence cannot be done 

But vengeance will follow the doer." 

And Nanna pled, "This is Balder's Peace, 

Let no one profane it with vengeance." 

So Loke escaped. 

And again Thor thundered, "Storm Helheim 

And rescue our Balder \" 

And the Asas echoed, "Storm Hell!" 

And forthwith they had sworn and departed, 
But that Frigg spoke, calmly and sadly, 
"Nay, Asas, storm Hell not, for Helheim 
The Norns gave to Hel till the Trumpet 
Shall sound on the morning of Doom — 
Ye must fail if ye go — but go one 
And offer our ransom to Hel." 



And Hermod, surnamed the Nimble, 

andHermod Said, "Frigg, I will go on thy mission,' 
And Odin gave fleet-footed Sleipner 



Frigg gives 
counsel, 



ilH 



departs on 
the mission, 

while To Hermod departing for Hell. 



BALDER'S DEATH 1.^ 

Then the Asas bore Raider's pale form 
The Asas deck Where his Ringhorn lay, greatest of vessels, 
sWp.""^'^ And on its broad deck built his pyre 

Of the boughs that they brought from the forest ; 

And there each laid a gift, jewelled armor, 

Rich rings and broaches, vast riches. 

To pile on his breast and about him. 

There Odin, bowed and sore grieved. 

Laid Draupner. the world's w^ealth and increase, 
Odin gives j-^jg riug-droppiug-riugs, and spoke bitter: 
raupner. "j^q^ Earth ccasc to bring forth her increase — 

Let all things with all be confounded .... 

Would that Time itself might run backward 

Or stop in its profitless courses." 
Frigg, her car- fherc Frigg laid her carpet of verdure 

pet; Fulla, the ._^ , i t^ n 

grain. That covcrs the Earth ; and b ulla. 

The yellow grain of the harvest. 

And through the still watches of night 
Baider's death- When Nauua and Frigg sat beside him, 

watch is kept. „ , „. . i • i. 

Sad Sigyn came to her sister, 
The sad wife, truest and tenderest. 
That Loke abandoned in Asgard 
To wed the foul witch Angerboda ; 
And Sigyn mourned beside Nanna 
For the wrong Loke did to her Balder. 

And, late, Nanna slumbered ; and sweetly 
Nanna's Peace settled upon her pale features — 

A white flower silvered in moonlight ; 
And speech passed her lips, to a \'ision 
Addressed, and then she woke, joyful: 
"Dear Mother and Sister, farewell ! 
Your Nanna may go to her Balder. 
Our lives were so closely inwoven 
That even in death we are mated — 
Give thanks to kind \*erdand', the weaver! 
Dear Mother and Sister, farewell !" 
And again Nanna slept. 
And thenceforth did Frigg and sad Sigyn 
Keep deathwatch for Nanna and Balder. 
And when his great pyre was built. 



vision. 



14 



BALDER'S DEATH. 



She is laid be- Qj-, ^Yiq broad deck of Ringhorn, his vessel, 

side Balder on T-.111 -i 1 i-i-\t 

his pyre. L>y Balder s Side they laid iNanna, 

Till the solemn riteS should be rendered 
If Hermod returned from his Mission 
With refusal to Asgard from Hel. 



Hermod's 
journey to 
Hell. 



IV. 

In the meantime fleet Sleipner sped northward, 
And never he stopped or turned back 
As he galloped through valleys, o'er chasms, 
Save once, at the Bridge, where a herald, 
Its keeper, called "Hail !" to challenge 
His passing. "I am Hermod! To Hel 




HERMOD DEPARTING FOR HELL. 



He enters 
Helheim 



Is my mission, for Balder!" 

And ready reply came, "Pass on ! 

It was over this Bridge he descended. 

God speed thee ! Greet Balder !" 

And again vast stretches he covered 

Till the Walls and the Gates rose, of Hell. 

"Hail Hermod! hail Sleipner!" said Balder, 

And drew near with Nanna to Hermod 

To fondle the steed, as in Asgard 

Was ever his wont .... 

But when he seemed to embrace them, 

His arms, they were naught but a shadow ; 



BALDER'S DEATH. 15 

And a shadow was Nanna, and shadows 
The ghosts that swarmed 'round them, 
Each bearing a brand on its forehead 
Of Hel's, the slothful, the craven, 
The wicked, but each with a hope 
In its eyes, and a light as in Balder's, 
For light still beamed from his eyes 
And a halo still circled his body — 
Heaven's Sun midst the shadows of Hell ! 

"Hail, Hermod ! Hail, Sleipner!" said Balder, 
ami receives "But your journcy to Helheim is bootless, 

Balder's mes- r^ , i • • tt 

sage to Asgard. -save that you may bear witness m Heaven 
When homeward you carry Hel's message 
That love such as Nanna's has might 
Far more than Hel's hate, e'en in Hell. 
Bitter cruel is Hel, and unyielding — 
Accept not, believe not her promise, 
For hate fills her heart full of venom 
And distrust gnaws her vitals with anguish. 
Since Nanna has come, Hel has hidden 
In Anguish, her palace in Nifhel, 
Where she lies enraged in Despair, 
For a hope that she trusted has failed her — 
The sight of love's joy is Hel's sorrow. . . . 
But let not the Mid-Earth and Asgard 
Grow gloomy as Helheim with mourning. 
Charge this on our loved ones, returning. 
And charge them to comfort each other — 
And charge them to comfort poor Hoder ; 
Assure him I love him as ever. 
For unwitting he slew me. Forgive him, 
And when our last rites ye have rendered 
Let Nature increase and be joyous — 

Balder retuinr, ^q ^his cud I scud my bcst gravc-gift 

his gifts. , . , 11 T- 1 1 • T^ 

Agam to All-lr'ather, his Draupner, 
His ring-that-drops-riches." 
And Nanna added her grave gifts : 
"To Frigg I send back her soft carpet. 
May flowers blossom upon it ; 
*And to Fulla give back her gay girdle, 
The maid with the waving gold tresses." 



16 



BALDER' S DEATH. 



Hermod's 
descent to 

Nifhel, 



And now Hermod continued his journey 

To offer Frigg's ransom to Hel. 

Through Shd he swam. River of Venom, 

And kingdom and kingdom he traversed 

Till he came to the lowest and darkest, 

The Ninth, where Hel dwells in Anguish, 

Her palace, and feasts at Famine, 

Her banqueting-board, and rules 

From Despair, her black throne, double seated 

And canopied, waiting a mate — 

But a mate will there never be fonr.d 

To rule in that kingdom despairing, 

For sole of her kind is Oucen Hel. 




SLID. RIVER OF VENOM. 



Delay, her man-servant, led him 
Across her threshold, Abysm, 
And her maid-servant. Slowness, 
Through portals and aisles, long approaches. 
Led him thence to her audience room. 
When PTel beheld Hermod approaching 
and iiis audi- gi-,g j-Qgg from her couch, her hard Care-Bed, 

ence with Hel. , , i i 

Where rest she had sought : 

She ascended Despair, and, haughty. 

She spake as kings speak to war envoys. 

So deathlike her presence, so grewsome, 

Hermod's blood curdled cold, but he hailed her 



BALDER'S DEATH. 



17 



Hermod's 
message, 



And delivered the message he bore her. 
His eyes fixed unflinching upon her. 
And besought her send Balder and Nanna 
To Asgard, and herself fix their ransom: 
''Of the Asas choose any, our greatest — 
So dearly we love him — choose Hoder, 
Appropriate mate." But Hel shuddered. 



and Hel's 
answer. 



Bold Hermod spoke on : 

"It is better for thee to give Balder, 

For if Balder thou keep he'll oppose thee ; 

And all Hell will love him and hate thee — 

And Nanna's he is." — Did Hel whiten? 

Dead-cold was her voice as she answered, 

"But does all Creation love Balder? 

If all in the world of the living 

Will weep him, take Balder, and Nanna ; 

Should any refuse, I will keep him." 



All things 
weep for 
Balder 



The very ghosts in dark Helheim 
Wailed loud when they heard her ; gentle 

Nanna 
Sobbed ; and fleet Sleipner and Hermod 
Shed tears as Hel's message they bore 
Speeding back to the Mid-Earth and Asgard ; 
And wherever they passed Nature wept. 
Hard stones wept, and metals, and plant life ; 
The mistletoe wept, and the oak-tree ; 
Wild beasts wept, and men. and the Asas 
Who held funeral feast around Ringhorn. 
And when they carried Hel's message 
Wherever space stretched through Creation 
There was weeping from all things that heard it. 



except old 
Thok, 



And almost the Asas had hope 

That fresh color had flushed his pale face 

And that Balder was rising to greet them, 

When a hag in her cave they espied, 

Evil Thok, an old ogress. 

"Oh Thok, weep Balder from Helheim." 

They prayed ; but Thok answered, 

"With dry tears of Thok will weep Balder! 



18 



BALDER'S DEATH. 



wlio is Loke 
disguised. 



Old Thok never joyed in his gladness — 

Let Hel keep what she has garnered!" 

She was gone, and the echoes repeated, 

"Hel keep what she has garnered!" 

And again, "Keep what she has garnered !" 

And again, "She has garnered!" and "Garnered!' 

Then, harshly, a laugh without mirth, 

A screech and a cackle — they knew — 

"Loke's laughter, and we must miss Balder, 

For Thok is Loke, who mocks us." 



Hoder asks 
for death, 



When, hopeless and silent, at sunset 

They wended their way back to Asgard 

And gathered again at the seashore. 

One met them who, helpless. 

Awaited their coming, blind Hoder. 

"Oh, warrior brothers," he prayed them, 

"One who never could join you in battle 

Begs a boon — do ye grant it in pity ! 

Deal me death, that slevv^ Balder beloved, 

And in Hell let me join him to comfort, 

For he loved me, and loves, though I slew him. 

Then slay me, and let me lie dead 

By him that I love. . . .and forgive. . . . 

Unwitting I slew him. . . .forgive!" 



and tlie \'ala's 
word is ful- 
filled, when 
his breast is 
risted by Vale 
and Vidar. 



The plea of blind Hoder prevailed ; 
And young Vale and Vidar, in pity 
(That thread by the Weird Ones was woven 
And none could alter that pattern) 
Deep-risted his breast with the spear-point 
Till his spirit passed, to join Balder. 
So atonement he made, and in pity 
They bore him dead to high Ringhorn 
And laid him, red-dyed, beside Balder, 
And in pity they wept and bewailed him. 



And when the Tide had arisen 
And the Deep and the Distance were calling, 
Farewells are \ ]^^^ time they bade Balder farewell ; 
Father Odin stooped and addressed him. 



BALDER'S DEATH. 



19 



And, graving a mark on his forehead, 

He set his torch to the pyre ; 

Then the winds and the waves took high Ringhorn, 

And, flame-bound, westward it drifted. 

Away — and away — from their ken, 
and the ship To regions whence no man returneth. 
Ringhorn j\^(^ none saw the end, nor can tell it. 

drifts out with _,, ,-, n . r i^ l 

the tide. Surely, that was the float fraught most precious 

Of all, in time past, and forever. 

And when it had passed their horizon 

And Day went, and Night came, blackshrouded. 




ODIN WHISPERING RUNES TO BALDER DEAD. 



Odin's 
Farewell, 



and resig- 
nation. 



Odin spoke: "Farewell, we must miss thee. 

Bright son, our hope and our joy! 

Now the Weird Ones have swept thee to Helheim, 

And wise is Weird with a Wisdom 

That passeth our knowledge. 

Let us bow our heads in submission. . . . 

As Weird wills, so be it ! 



20 



BALDER'S DEATI-1. 



"Come, Frigg ; come, our children, 
He gives hope \y^(^ \q^ ^^g comfort eacli other. 

to the Asas, i t i • 

A word I whispered ;to Balder 
And a sign on his forehead I risted 
That will quell hateful Hel, 
A wise Word, fateful and runic. 
The knowledge I added to knowledge 
What time I o'erhung the abysses 
To assuage the rancor of hate 
And turn evil against the ill-doer. 



and foretells 

Raider's 

glory, 



His attain- 
ment of wis- 
dom* 



and of the 
Blessed, 



His victory- 
over Hel, 



and his king- 
dom of Alf- 
heim, 



"Lo, a Vision is rising before me — 

Humbly T thank thee, thou Weird One ! — 

I see Him, with sight that is certain .... 

And not Death, but Life Everlastinr/. 

For His palace has sheltered no Evil ! 

That Mead that Hel brewed, mingling floods 

Of all Fountains of Life, He will drink, 

x-\nd all Wisdom, all Good will be His. 

And the Dead that in love drink those waters 

Are His, the Redeemed and Blessed, 

For that Mead when they drink will transfigure 

Their ghosts, and new bodies will clothe them 

With Strength and with Beauty immortal. 

"Oh Balder, our White One, our Just, 

Though I gave my eye to buy Wisdom — 

That draught of the flood of Urd's Fountain — 

Thrice wiser art thou than thy Father! 

Hateful Hel can never subdue Thee 

To do her hard bidding. . . .her Lord, 

WHiom she chose — and her Master ! 

And when the World- Web has been woven 

And the fiery flames of Surt's vengeance 

Have climbed from Earth to high Asgard, 

When our Green Tree has sunk in gray ashes, 

Lo, thine the New Earth, the New Asgard, 

The new Dawn... the new Realm of the Spirit! 



"Sustain we ourselves and each other. 
And keep our world bright, as He bade, 
after While wc wait the blare of the Trumpet 

Kagnarok. ' 

That summons Creation to Doom." 



BALDER'S DEATH. 21 

So Odin. The Asas assented, 

And long as they sat at the seashore 

They spoke of those dear and departed, 

Of the conquest of Hel, and the Judgment, 

And heard Hermod rehearse of his journey — 

How the Dead, even then, loved their Balder 

And how Hel and her kingdom they hated. 



ARGUMENT. 

'"piTTS mythology of the North presents a triple tragedy: (1) that 
1 of Loke and his kindred, the Jotuns ; (2) that of Odin and his 
Circle of Asas in Asgard ; and (3) that of Balder and those who 
join him in Hell. Loke's is the blackest tragedy, of evil done and 
not repented ; Odin's is the tragedy of evil done that good may come 
of it. but acknowledged as evil ; and Balder's, the tragedy of the 
good and the just and the peaceful who seem to be overcome by 
evil, but transcend it and prevail in spirit. 

The cycle of northern myths, then, presents a world-theme, 
and the utilitarian ethics of Odin in building his Circle is the pro- 
voking cause of calamity in the whole series. As Rydberg shows, 
even while the immediate object for which Odin does evil is attained, 
evil results follow and develop, until at Ragnarok they will over- 
whelm him and his Circle. But after Ragnarok Justice will prevail 
in Balder's Realm of the Spirit. 

Before he is caught and bound by the Asas Loke has plotted 
the domination of the world by his evil offspring, the Serpent, the 
Wolf and Hel ;. and with his own hand he has slain Balder, the 
Lord of Light, the Father of Justice, "whose palace has sheltered 
no evil." But bad as he is, this devil must be given his due. If 
we find him crafty and dishonest in his dealings with the Asas, we 
must admit that he is only meeting craft with craft, and bettering 
the example ; if he does wrong that he and his may rule Creation, 
he is imitating Odin's policy for his Circle. Loke becomes the 
personification of destructive fire, a spirit of revenge, but was, 
until he was perverted, a loved spirit of warmth and brightness. 
From his own point of view he is more sinned against than sinning, 
for Odin has tried to exterminate the Jotuns in order to ensure his 
own dominion, and where he did not destroy Jotuns, bribed them 
or enticed them to turn traitor to their race and join his. Odin 
overreached the Jotuns, and stole from them, that he might add to 
the power of his Circle, thinking it his manifest destiny to prevail 



24 LORE'S PUNISHMENT. 

because he had the chance. It is entirely fit that his career should 
end at Ragnarok by the swords of all whom he has wronged, the 
dwellers at the ends of the earth. Jotunheim. Muspelheim, Elfheim, 
and Hell. When all of Creation has been purged by fire, only 
Balder's Realm of Justice will remain, to become New Heaven and 
New Earth. In poetic justice, the race of Asas, that seemed the 
fittest to survive, goes to its doom because it has done all manner of 
injustice to gain power and prevail. So perish all that do such 
deeds. 



w 



LORE'S PUNISHMENT. 

J HEN the plot of that evil one, Loke, 
Was sped, and Balder the Bright 
After the ^^g doomed with Hel to abide, 

death of 

Balder, Loke While o'er Balder's bale, save for Thok, 

laughed in 'p^g ^^j^Q|g ^qj.}^ ^^ ^ 
spite , ^ ' 

Thok's self was Loke, who cackled 
With laughter and ran to his cavern 
Refusing to weep for Balder. 

That laugh was the last of his misdeeds, 
and fled from Poj- ^\^qt^ Lokc kncw that the Asas 

the Asas in,T(r,i r • t i n i ^ 

fear. Would never forgive, and he ned them. 

In many strange guises he fled them, — 
As fly, bird, beast. 
As fish in the flood, as earth-elf ; 
And still as he fled, still transforming, 
Through the open he glided, a-shrinking, 
Through the shadows he slunk, a-skulking, 
And ever he felt in his hiding 
That Odin's eye was upon him. 
And ever abandoned his cover 
To wander afresh. 



He dared not return to green Gladsheim 
To visit young Idun and Brage 
Without the And eat of their Apples immortal, 

Apples of ^^ 

Youth and oo apacc old age crept upon him, 
Strength, he n^he fire in his eye burned to ashes, 

grew aged. 

His cheek hung wrinkled and withered, 
And his foot dragged heavy and languid. 
Very many the fears that oppressed him — 
Was there nowhere a soul would assist him? 



26 



LORE'S PUNISHMENT. 



Haunted by 
fears, and 
lonely, 



In all the wide world was no creature 

A friend, for all he had injured 

And now of all must be fearful. 

When he swam in the sea, Jormungand, 

His Serpent-son, rose up and hissed him ; 

To an island he neared, but Fenrer, 

His Wolf-son, there snarled 

When he saw him approach — 

He hated the source of his being ; 

In a cavernous hillside he hid him, 

But the Dwarf Andvare crawled forth 

And drove him away with deep cursing 

For wresting from him that Ring 

That has carried gold's curse to Earth's kingdoms, 

"A bane to the bearer shall be, 

Bitter grief to the greedy of gold, 

Haunting sorroiv to all who possess 

Gold zveighted with zvrong." . . . . 

How many and many have sorrowed, 

And alas ! how many will sorrow 

Ere that curse of x\ndvare shall pass ! . . . . 

And when as a hawk Loke soared. 

The son of Thjasse, the Eagle. 

Remembering young Idun, his sister. 

That Loke led forth from her kindred 

With her casket of youth-giving Apples — 

Them the skill of Thjasse had fashioned 

And now her kindred must hunger 

While her foes may feast — 

Pursued him to rend him in pieces. 

So wherever he went some old deed 

That was done in spite or in mischief 

Raised its head like a snake's head, and hissed him, 

And threatened to strike him and sting him. 

Almost he was willing to perish, 
Or to seek his old hag, Angerboda, 
And their wolf-sons that lurk in the forest 
Afar in the North, the dun Mirkwood — 
But hate was the tie that bound them. . . . 
And Hel, his cold daughter in Helheim — 
Her he fain would forget. . . . 
Not only he hated. ... he dreaded. 



LORE'S PUNISHMENT. 



27 



he sought 
hiding in 
Helway, 



where he 
saw his 
daughter 
Hel coming. 



but was un- 
able to flee 
her, 



and received 
her curse, 



Grown weary with wandering, haunted. 

At the foot of a rock that looks northward 

He hid in deep shadow. 

Whence downward and nortliward leads Helway, 

Bleak, and steep, and forbidding. 

There never a living thing grows. 

Gray lichens, or grasses, or mosses, 

But hoar frost lies white in the moonshine. 

And when, muffled close in her mantle. 

Dark Midnight had passed on her mission, 

Hel's hounds came a-baying from Helheim 

And a pale form rose from the Deep 

That he knew, as a dream, in his slumber. 

For Hel, his daughter, his tyrant, 

And naught he could do to escape her. . . . 

His heart grew cold with its knowledge. 

It was then for the first time he feared her. 

This child of the worst in his being. 

Supreme of her kind. Queen of Evil.... 

That thought wrung his heart with foreboding — 

His Queen, to himself anguish-boding. 

Loke struggled to rouse him, to flee her — 
Far less did he dread the wronged Asas 
Than Hel, as he saw her ascending — 
But slumber still held him in bondage, 
For Odin's Rune risted in aether 
Turned evil upon the ill-doer. 

And Hel came still closer, and closer, 
Till the cold of her breath blew upon him ; 
The cold of her hands chilled his body ; 
Her eyes, cold-gleaming, transfixed him ; 
And her voice spoke, coldly, his doom: 

"So Loke would flee me? Fool, Coward, 
And author of what he'll not look on! 
Nay, yet thou shalt pray and beseech me 
To take thee to Hell from thy torments! 
This thy doom, and hope not to escape it: 

Hell on Earth, Death in Life, — 

To know goodness and light, hut still hate them; 

To see joy, but he hanished forever; 



28 LORE'S PUNISHMENT. 

To live in the zvorld of the living, 

But still without poiver to injure; 

To zvill still to do, hut lie hound; 

To suffer in sight of Heavens Asas, 

Enduring their scorn, zvhile the pity 

Of her thou hast injured protects thee, — 

Hell itself has no pains worse than thine be, 

A'o chains like the chains that shall hind thee. . 

Live, languish, agonize, 

Impotent, vacant, immortal — 

Nay, look not for end to thy sorrozv — 

And rememher, Loke, remember. 

Wherever thou art, thou art mine." 

And Loke moaned as he listened. 
And bitter he groaned when he wakened, 
Though the evil Queen had departed 
And naught he beheld but bleak Helway 
Downward and northward extending, 
in utter y\nid uaught he heard .... There was silence, 

A stillness that throbbed with foreboding.... 

Alone was Loke, so lonely 

He would fain have kept Hel there beside him- 

Her cursing was better than silence. . . . 

Alone with the stars and the heavens. 

And the stars and the heavens were aching. 



He is joined g^^j- j-iq^ alonc to remain, 
wife, sigyn. For before the first flush of the morn, 
In the hush that awaits a new Dawn 
Slow footsteps approached from the South, 
And a voice, low and soft as a wind-harp, 
Breathed, "Loke, Loke, my lord!" 
That he knew ; then a presence like sunshine 
Illumined the place of his hiding. 
Fair Sigyn, the True and the Tender, 
Whom he had deserted in Asgard 
To wed the foul witch Angerboda. 
Now she had come down from high Asgard, 



LOKE'S PUNISHMENT 29 

Womanly, motherly, wifely; 

And still, if Loke had loved — 

What might not the future have seen? 

For she knew the wrongs he had done — 

And she knew the wrongs he had suffered — 

She would have found joy in forgiving. 

He repulses gyt ^y^s there no love in his heart? 

her, 

Hateful and spiteful and vengeful 

Loke answered. He hardened his heart 

And accused her, suspicious, 

That she from the Asas had come 

To betray him, to bait him ; 

And so he reproached and reviled her. 

And Sigyn looked sadly upon him 

And silently bore his upbraiding; 

And with him she stayed, that fair goddess, 

Still living her dream of devotion. 

Fulfilling the troth that she plighted. 

And still she had hope. 

And patiently went she with Loke 

When later he hid in the mountains. 

And steadfastly held her high purpose,. 

Sustaining her heart in its sadness 

By telling it o'er the sweet tale 

Of the days of their love, in far Asgard. 

And Loke half feared her, and wondered 
but finally T^^t Still shc should Stay, but endured it, 

suffers her 111-11 1 • 1 

to stay with i hougli he felt her presence but irksome, 
him and bring j^^(^ i^q sufifcred her suuimou their children, 

their sons. ... . ^^ , ^j 

ihe wilful Vare and JNare, 

Whom she loved wnth the love of a mother 

Though they tore her heart with unkindness. 

And Loke, too, had no kindness 

From them, but dread and dire danger. 

For his sons did not care for his safety. 

But under the vault of the heavens. 

In the crystalline light of the Day Star, 

They threatened and shouted. 

Though Odin was watching on Air Throne. 

He lives in jj-, ^\-^q loug, auxious days that succeeded 



retieat, 



Loke sat in his house with wide windows 



30 LORE'S PUNISHMENT. 

To all quarters of space, whence he watched 
For the Asas to come from the North, 
From the South, from the East, from the West, 
While in thought he did over the deeds 
Of his life. And not in the least 
Was he sad for the wrongs he had done. 
But all for the tricks that had failed him. 
And those long anxious days was he busied 
In netting a net, cunning meshes. 
That seemed, as he made them, a symbol, 
His life and the lives his had met. 
Intermingled and knotted together. 
The knots were the deeds he had done, 
For each knot that he knotted was hard 
And not to be loosened .... 
Each life his had met had been marred, 
And was not to be mended. 
But he joyed in the life he had lived 
And the net he had made, as he pondered, 
And so intently he netted 
That the shouts of the Asas surprised him, 
but is discov- Pqj. he had forgotten his danger. 

ered by the . 

Asas. War-ready, their ranks closed upon him — 

Wise Odin, strong Thor, calm Tyr, 
Shining Frey, swift Hermod, white Njord, 
And Heimdal, that hated him ever — 
The band that fills Asgard with glory. 

With shouts hateful \"are and Nare, 
Hi? sons j^ig sons, wished him ill 

rejoice at his , , , . i , r , ar t i 

danger. And mocked their old father: Lo, Loke, 

The Asas ! What youth, and what splendor ! 

Such the gods are, but thee! Art not jealous? 

And such might we also now be 

But for thee, thou old Jotun and wizard. 

Whom we hate — Alas, for our birthright ! 

Flee? Do, but they'll catch thee — 

And may they!" 



III. 
Loke hides in A,-,(j flgg Loi^-g ^\^^ y^\\^ ^jth terror. 

the guise of _ ^ . , r 

a salmon, He tiung his net to the nre 



LORE'S PUNISHMENT 



31 



And flew to the Force, in whose flood 
He leaped and he phinged, in the guise 
Of a salmon, so seeking escape. 
But the Asas saw him and knew him. 
And taking a net, woven meshes 
Like his, that they found in the ashes. 
They followed him down in the water. 
Twice he sought to pass to the ocean .... 
To dive under the net. . . .to leap over. ... 
but is caught -Q^-^i ^\-^Qy caught him, strong Thor and wise Odin, 
net, They caught him and, spite his guise, held him. 



and is bound 
to the rocks 
in a valley. 



And when Loke's struggle was over. 

And he lay there, no longer a salmon. 

They dragged him into a valley 

Where ledges of rock beetled o'er him 

And mountain crests rose and enclosed him 

That the heavens themselves scarce could see him — 

None save Odin when seated on Air Throne. 

And there to three rock-ribs they bound him 

For a bed, and the thongs that they used 

(A horror — he scarce could endure it!) 

Were the entrails of wolfish Vare, 

His son, that hated and mocked his old father 

And killed and devoured his brother. 



Loke struggled, and groans shook his body, 
He struggles Though proudly he strove to control him 
While the Asas stood by looking on him. 
Then a Serpent from over the summit 
Came to torture and feast, as a spider. 
When a fly is caught in its meshes, 
Comes to play with it struggling, and kill it. 
But so fearful the play of the lightning 
That leaped from his eyes when he saw it, 
So piercing, so hunted, so blinding. 
And so fearful those serpent-eyes stony 
That, alike fixed in terror, they gazed. 
The Serpent and Loke, bound both 
By a spell that neither can break, 
And binding each other forever 
By a spell that neither can lessen. 



but is tor- 
tured by a 
serpent 



32 



LORE'S PUNISHMENT. 



Prone lay the snake, 

Its thin neck stretching down 

And its flat head depressed, 

Its cleft tongue han'ging limp, 

Dropping venom distilled 

Where Loke lay rigid beneath it. 

As it dropped, drop by drop, 

It encrusted his body, and burned. 

That he writhed in his anguish 

And fought with the strength of his godhead, 

While the Asas stood by, and derided. 



until his 
pride is 
broken. 



The Asas 
torture him 
with taunts, 



Then his pain broke his pride, spite of Loke, 

Cries of agony startled the mountains. 

And backward and forward they hurtled 

Through the vales, o'er the plains, up to Asgard, 

And down to the nether abysses. 

In all places their tidings were welcome 

That the days of his misdeeds were done 

And that Loke lay helpless and harmless. 

The wide world listened, rejoicing, it seemed, 

And with mocking and laughter : 

"Thy desert now thou hast, dost thou like it?" 

Said one, and "Could we but do so 

With usury we would repay thee!" 

"Aye, aye," cried the rest, taunting Loke. 

"Thy chickens come home to their roost 

With their broods; count them, Loke!" 

"Thou wert wont to pour vials of torments 

On victims in sport. Dost remember? 

Now ours is the sport, thine the torment ; 

And remember the pain of thy victims !" 

His base deeds to remembrance they brought 

In wrath, and for vengeance, 

To requite ill with ill in like measure, 

For so it seemed good to the Asas 

To torture their prisoner, Loke. 



but his wife, fg all savc his sad-eved wife Sigyn. 

Sigyn, in t- u ^ j i <. ' • • 

io her tender heart, wise m sorrow. 



mercy 



No rejoicing it brought that Loke 
Must sing that terrible song 



LOKE'S PUNISH^IENT. 



33 



pleads for 
him, 



reproaches 
the Asas 
with their 
own wrong 
doing. 



In torment, but she pitied his pain, 
An added weight to the woes 
Of a world but too woful without it. 
Her soul was sad as she heard them, 
Mourning her mood : 

"Oh Father, oh brothers, have pity ! 
Our world is too heavy with sorrow 
To wring one cry that is needless 
From the bitter breast of a captive, 
Long bitter with wrongs ye inflicted 
On those dear to him, as his kindred. 
Now Loke is bound and harmless. 
And Loke's children are outcast, 
The Wolf, and Hel. and the Serpent. 




and an- 
nounces her 
purpose to 
slay with him. 



SIGYN, LOKE AND THE SERPENT 

Enough let it be that the safety 
Of Asgard and Earth are assured — 
The brave never injure the helpless. . . . 
Leave Loke to me, give your blessing. 
And perhaps, some day in the Future — 
Perhaps — for he may repent him — 
Perhaps I may bear to glad Valhal 



34 LORE'S PUNISHMENT. 

A word for peace and forgiveness. 
If not — but let me not think it — 
Still here will I stay, 
And will labor to lessen his anguish ; 
And still I can hope for a whisper 
Of love, that will long to be voiced 
When it wakens to life, toward one. . . . 
And toward all. . . . 
In mercy now go ... . 
I will bear it !" 

The Asas were touched by her pleading, 

That goddess' so sad and devoted ; 

The laughter died from their voices. 

And their taunting, scornful and biting, 

Lay hushed on their lips into silence. 

And pity entered their hearts 

For Loke, that he must be lorn 

Of her love, that his heart had cast from him. . . . 

And awe came upon them at Evil 

Itself. Whence came it? How comes it? 

Why did Loke succumb? — and why they? 

For they — they, too, were infected. 

Each knew in his secret soul 

Of hopes and desires and deeds 

That he wished he need not remember ; 

And it softened their hearts toward Loke 

To know that no Asa was blameless, 

And that they themselves had been tempters. 

And it seemed an inscrutable Other 

Moved him and moved them divers ways. 

Were they puppets alike? and warped 

By the stuff that was theirs from their forebears? 

Thor agrees "Sigyn is right," Asa Thor spoke, 

with her ^J t, ' t- > 

words, "Bound is Loke, and harmless. 

And the brave never injure the helpless!" 

IV. 

"Aye, Sigyn is right," said All-Father ; 
and Odin also. "Nqw that Lokc is bouud and harmless. 
For us 't is enough that the safety 
Of the Heavens and the Earth are assured. 



LORE'S PUNISHMENT. 



35 



Odin shows 
the present 
perils of 
Asgard 



And bound are the children of Loke, 

The Serpent, the Wolf, and that other. 

The Queen of ravenous Hell. 

Do ye see the shade in the valley? 

It is spread by the wings of the Eagle; 

Do ye hear his screaming eerie ? 

'T is Thjasse's son threatening Asgard — 

Alas for our Heavenly City 

That its gold must be weighted with wrong! 

Do ye hear the call from the Sea-Stream 

Sucked down in a whirlpool? The Serpent. 

And the howl of the Wolf? 'T is wild Fenrer. 

The baying? Hel's hounds — Angerboda's. 

Ye know those sounds and their portents. 

Ye know the mustering foes 

To be met in the Future as erewhile. . , . 

And not the less to be feared 

Because they give evil for evil 

To destroy the fair world that we fashioned 

By seeking advantage from theirs. 

It was I for myself and my Circle — 

Was it well? Was it well? 



"Do the Norns themselves know the outcome, 
They that sit at the roots of the World-Tree 
And weave the web of the World-Life? 
Know they the End and Beginning?. . . . 
Or draw they the threads from the Unknown, 
And toss the torn shreds to the Unknown?. . . . 
and reminds Yc kuow how, late, iu our Valhal, 

the Asas of . . -n i i • j i 

their vows of In wmter, smce Balder is dead, 

brotherhood. Y/e sat at our tables, heroes 

Eating and drinking, and singing 
The hero-deeds we remembered, 
In the warmth and light of our fires. 
While without all was hoarfrost and storm. 
Then in swam a swallow, skimming 
From one wide door to the other. 
For a moment he circled, he twittered, 
Enjoying the warmth — 
Welcome guest with feathers at banquet — 
And then, in a twinkling, was off. 



He compares 
life to the 
flight of a 
swallow. 



36 



LORE'S PUNISHMENT. 



He glories 
in action 



and urges the 
Asas to action 



against Hel 
and her 
brood. 



He rejoices 
in Vala's 
prophecy of 
the kingdom 
of Balder, 
and 



inspires the 
Asas to meet 
Fate as 
heroes. 



And had passed— from Winter, to Winter. . 

E'en such, methinks, is our Hfe. 

It comes from no man knows whence, 

It goes to no man knows whither. 

It flutters a space, and in it 

We build for ourselves and our Circle 

And strive to do action heroic. . . . 

And at last we may fail of our purpose. . . . 

"But ah! the glory of striving, 

The joy of our work for our World's Good ! 

If vanquished, victors it leaves us. 

Foes surround us, and we must endure it. 

Foes surround us: shall Asas surrender? 

Nay, Asas, life is a Battle, 

The day of the Present is passing. 

The darkness is coming, Time's flying; 

Let each ere he die do the deeds 

That he may, and rejoice in the doing 

Though he know not the end .... 

Else belong he to Hel and her sluggards. 

If we die, as the Yala foreshadowed. 

Let us die dealing death for our Circle, 

To Hel and to hers ; 

And after, as Vala foreshadowed. 

When the Battle that Last Day is ended 

Our Balder, the Bright, will arise. 

For his Palace has sheltered no evil, 

The Peaceful and White, — 

Him our souls still sigh for — 

And Nanna will rise from dark Helheim. 

And the same World will rise that bred us, 

But refreshed and ever renewed, 

As Asgard the Golden anew, 

But higher, more splendid, new named. 

Will rise in the glorified heavens, 

In the Land of Spirit eternal. . . . 

"And we— shall we, too, spring anew? 
We know not and we need not to know. 
And Evil — will it spring anew? 
We know not and we need not to know. 
Enough that to-day is our own. 



LORE'S PUNISHMENT. Z7 

Let us gather the brave to our banners 
And trust that cause to wise Skuld — 
To a hero will death come but once. . . . 
Come gather about me, and hear me. 
I will rist you the Rune I created 
What time I o'erhung the Abysm. 
Touch ye each the hand of a brother, 
Fix your eyes on Asgard above us, 
Lift up your voices in union 
And sing the New Song that I sung." 



Heriststhe Then Odin the mighty Rune risted 

runes of Peace . i i i a 

and Strength, That givcs pcace and strength to the Asas, 

for them, ^j-j^j together they chanted his verses. 
Brave hearts ! — the song they will sing 
When he leads them into the Battle 

sings the That Last Day, in the Dusk of the Nations. 

gives courage, Rising and falling like breakers 

That beat on the sands of the seashore 
It sounded under their shieldboards, 
And deep, like the roll of far billows, 
Rolled the voice of All-Father in union. 

Then, lifting their hands over Sigyn, 
and finally They wcudcd their way from the valley, 

leads them . • i i a i 

back to Asgard, Ascending to pinacled Asgard; 

And Loke, the wanton and Evil — 
Very willingly would they have eased him. 
But Hel's dread curse was upon him 
And on hers she must work out her will. 



leaving Sigyn Alouc bcsidc Lokc stood Sigyn. 

w-ith Loke, to „, , , , , . , i j a. 

render him She could uot loosc him, and would not, 
service and But shc strove to Icsscu his auguish 

win him from . , i n i i i • j 

vengeance And opcu the floodgates by knidness 
and hate. That the streams of his love might start flowing. 
A cup she made, joining her fingers. 
To catch the withering venom 
That fell from the fangs of the Serpent, 



38 



LORE'S PUNISHMENT. 



To spill it or ever it burned him. 
So, unsleeping, his pain she endures. 
In the glare of the sun in the summer, 
In the pinch of the cold in the winter, 
Through the watches of noon and of midnight 
And she listens, by hope still sustained, 
Again to-night, and forever. 
Till he whisper that Word. 

DutLokewiii B^it i^oke relents not, and speaks not, 

not relent, _ n • 

Save when, her cup overflowing 




THE ASAS ASCENDING TO ASGARD OVER BIFROST. 



And the venomous drops on him spilling 

And rankling, he cries aloud and he curses, 

And save when, at midnight, 

When the stars are most awful in heaven. 

The howling of hounds heralds Hel. 

Then he moans and he mutters, by turns 

Praying Hel, nozv to pass. . . .nozv to take him. 



LORE'S PUNISHMENT. 39 

though sigyn Still si-,e jisteiis and watches, lone Sigyn, 

IS steadfast, /-- i i r r- =>-' ' 

1 hat Goddess of Sorrows ; and her face 
Is ahght with a passion of pity. 
Transfigured by self-abnegation 
And unthanked devotion — the steadfast! 

But who shall say it is thankless? 
And who shall say it is useless? 
Still Weird will go as it will, 
until Ragna- Surcly Mercy is better than Vengeance, 

Mayhap Love will prove stronger than Justice 
And Sigyn win Loke from Hel. 






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